Inside The NFL

Looking SuperIt's not too early to single out the Bucs as the team that couldwin it all

As the final seconds ticked off the Silverdome scoreboard,Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp paused on the sideline toconsider the destruction his team had wrought in a 31-10 win overthe Lions. "One bad play in 60 minutes," he said. "Not bad. Butwe ain't done yet, baby. We'll be better."

That's a scary thought for the rest of the NFL, but he's right.The Tampa Bay defense is intimidating and has depth; we expectedthat. The offense is developing into a better-than-average group;we didn't expect that, certainly not this early on.

Three weeks into the season it's clear that the defending SuperBowl champion Rams have serious shortcomings on defense, andevery AFC contender is flawed. So here are seven reasons whyTampa Bay will win it all.

1. The Defense Never Rests. The Bucs conjure up memories of theReggie White-Jerome Brown-led Eagles defense of the late '80s andearly '90s, but this team is deeper. It is a Tasmanian devil of aunit, and on Sunday it had seven sacks, 12 quarterback pressures,two interceptions, five pass deflections and two forced fumbles,all while holding the Lions to 17 yards rushing. Every weekthere's a new hero. Linebacker Derrick Brooks was the man in Week1, cornerback Ronde Barber in Week 2 and Sapp (three sacks) andfellow defensive tackle Anthony (Booger) McFarland (2 1/2 sacks)in the Detroit game. The emergence of McFarland, a 1999first-round draft pick out of LSU, led to the Bucs' waiving BradCulpepper, a fan favorite and a buddy of Sapp's. With Tampa Baysitting on a 24-10 lead, McFarland and defensive end ChidiAhanotu combined on a sack that knocked the Lions out of fieldgoal range. "He plays so much like me," Sapp says of McFarland,"that sometimes when we're watching film, I get the two of usconfused."

2. The Intimidation Factor. Fourth quarter, Detroit stilltrailing by 14 with the ball at its 42. Charlie Batch passes 31yards up the right seam for tight end David Sloan, who, with freesafety Damien Robinson closing fast, pulls up short of the ballinstead. "We try to hit receivers so hard early that they growalligator arms," Robinson said later. Strong safety John Lynchintercepts the pass and returns it 36 yards, setting up the Bucs'final touchdown.

3. The Offense Has Some Teeth. In 12 quarters Tampa Bay hasscored 93 points--and quarterback Shaun King has no turnovers.There's a direct correlation there. Occasionally King will passup an open man 20 yards downfield for a shorter, safer throw or arun, but what do you expect from a player who has made only 10NFL starts? He's beginning to find new star wideout KeyshawnJohnson (eight catches for 84 yards on Sunday), which, in turn,opens up the running game. In their first three outings the Bucshave rushed for seven touchdowns, equaling their total for alllast season. The maturation of wideouts Reidel Anthony andJacquez Green, meanwhile, gives the Bucs' passing attack moredepth than it has ever had.

4. A Leader in the Huddle--at Last. Midway through the thirdquarter Tampa Bay was stalled at the Lions' one-yard line, havingfailed to score on six plays (thanks to a penalty) inside thefive. King stepped into the huddle on fourth down and lit intohis teammates for not imposing their will on the Lions. The Bucsscored on the next play, but the touchdown was called backbecause of an illegal substitution. Tampa Bay settled for a fieldgoal, but King had made his point. One teammate says King in hissecond season commands more respect in the huddle than thedeparted Trent Dilfer did in his sixth. "I won't berate them,"King says of his teammates, "but we respect each other. They knowwhat a quarterback has to do sometimes."

5. The Dungy Factor. No team respects its coach more than theBucs respect Tony Dungy. "I owe the man everything," Sapp, theleague's defensive player of the year in '99, says of his successunder Dungy. Talk about an open-door policy: When the Bucsreleased Culpepper on Aug. 21, Sapp went to Dungy's home--the twolive in the same neighborhood--knocked on his door and demanded anexplanation for the roster move. Dungy invited him in andexplained the reasoning behind the move; Sapp still wasn't happy,but he got a straight answer. Dungy, in his understated way,doesn't duck anything.

6. The Front Office Has a Plan. "The window-of-opportunitytheory, about having a short time to win in the NFL today, is amyth," says Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay. "In thesalary-cap era, you can't worry about the next three months; youhave to worry about the next three years. Every year you have torely on your coaches to develop and play unproven players." Sowhen Culpepper was released and middle linebacker Hardy Nickersonjumped to the Jaguars in free agency, McFarland and third-yearman Jamie Duncan moved into those vacancies seamlessly.

7. Keyshawn's Arrival. It was good for the team that Johnson hada big afternoon on Sunday. He was a nonfactor the first twoweeks--only six receptions total--and though he wasn't bitchingabout being underused, his teammates were. "We didn't payKeyshawn $56 million to be some damn decoy," Sapp said the nightbefore the game against Detroit. "We've got to start getting himthe ball." On Sunday, 10 of King's 30 attempts went Johnson'sway.

"I'm not going to complain about numbers," Johnson, looking likea million bucks, said after the game. "All I care about iswinning a Super Bowl--this year."

Tiki Barber's EmergenceGrass Fuels Top Rusher's Run

No one was happier to see the artificial turf ripped from thefloor of Giants Stadium this year than running back Tiki Barber."There's no question I'm a better player on grass," says Barber,the league's surprising rushing leader after three weeks, with326 yards on only 41 carries. "I'm just really apprehensive onthe turf. I'm more cautious. On grass I feel I can let myabilities come out more. I'm confident. I'm comfortable."

Fear of injury, Barber says, has made him a tentative player onartificial turf. Since the start of the 1999 season he hasaveraged 6.8 yards per carry on grass and 4.9 yards on turf. OnSept. 3 he exploded out of the gate on Giants Stadium's newsurface for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in a 21-16victory over the Cardinals. He was back on the grass on Sunday,picking up 86 yards on 17 carries and scoring a touchdown in a14-7 win over the Bears at Soldier Field as the Giants ran theirrecord to 3-0 for the first time since 1994. In three games hehas already rushed for more yards than he did in each of the lasttwo seasons, and 10 of his team's 13 remaining games are ongrass.

The new surface on his home field isn't the only reason thatBarber, a second-round draft choice out of Virginia in 1997, hasbeen better. He felt too heavy last season at 205 pounds, soduring the off-season he dropped 14 pounds by repeatedly running2 1/2 miles up and down a hillside in northern New Jersey. Giantsfullback Greg Comella, who learned the hill regimen while atStanford from training freak Jerry Rice, introduced Barber to it.

"I have to thank Jerry Rice," says Barber, "because running thathill taught me to push my body to the max, then beyond." All theway to the top of the NFL rushing charts.

Elvis LivesChiefs' Grbac Finds a Weapon

On Sunday, Chiefs quarterback Elvis Grbac threw a first-quarterinterception that Chargers safety Michael Dumas returned for ascore. Grbac also twisted his right knee on the play and limpedoff the field to a chorus of boos. Then, in a stunningturnaround, he rebounded to have the most productive day by aKansas City signal-caller since 1966.

Grbac has been unspectacular, to put it mildly, in recentseasons. Going into the San Diego game, he had thrown almost asmany interceptions (34) as touchdown passes (41) since he joinedthe Chiefs in 1997. But with rookie first-round pick SylvesterMorris getting separation from a good San Diego secondary, Grbacfound the deep threat he has been lacking. He threw touchdownpasses of 36, nine and 20 yards to Morris, and a total of five onthe day--the most since Len Dawson shredded the Boston Patriotsfor five scores--in a 42-10 Kansas City rout.

"That's the kind of toughness you need to play quarterback,"Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham said. "Elvis found another weaponin Sylvester Morris, and I think that's going to make everythingelse in our offense better."

The End ZoneOn His Own Island

Told that a participant in the CBS series Survivor was at theteam's practice facility last week, Rams coach Mike Martz said,"I have no idea what Survivor is."

COLOR PHOTO: DAMIAN STROHMEYER With Mike Alstott running for the tough yards inside, Tampa Bay's rushing attack is in good hands.COLOR PHOTO: BOB ROSATO Barber claims he's a better runner on grass than on turf, and he has backed that up so far.

Dispatches

Packers quarterback Brett Favre's advice to struggling Eaglescounterpart Donovan McNabb: "You'll have one great game, then anaverage game. A great game, then a bad game, then five averagegames. You will wonder if you're a flash in the pan. You nevertotally master the game. Keep working." McNabb had one of thoseso-so games against the Packers on Sunday, completing 15 of 31passes for 118 yards with an interception in a 6-3 loss....

As for the Packers, they are being done in by two tackles, MikeWahle and Mark Tauscher, who have 17 career starts between them.Eagles defensive ends Hugh Douglas and Mike Mamula feasted onthem. Philly racked up five sacks and held the Pack to 236yards....

The biggest player in the NFL, 380-pound Lions right tackleAaron Gibson, probably won't be the biggest player in his familyfor long. His 15-year-old brother, Adam, is a 360-pound tacklefor Bloomington (Ind.) North High....

Here's one reason that the Jets love running back Curtis Martin:He has a streak of 437 carries and 492 offensive touches withoutlosing a fumble....

The strangest statement of Week 3--and perhaps the mostrevealing--came from safety Lawyer Milloy of the 0-3 Patriots,speaking to the media who were trying to figure out the mood inthe New England locker room: "You guys can't possibly understandwhat's going on in here, because a lot of times we don't knowwhat's going on in here."